When was the last time you looked at your coffee creamer ingredients? If you’re anything like me, you’ve just added your favorite coffee creamer to your cart every week without even thinking twice about what’s in it. Or maybe you’re a little (or a lot) crunchy, and you actually care about the type of coffee creamer you’re using. Your go-to coffee creamer has all clean ingredients, but it gets more expensive every time you go! I am here to offer you the solution to your problem. This coffee creamer is really the best of both worlds; good for your wallet as well as your body!

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Background 

I started drinking coffee in college, and pretty much never looked back. It’s a small pleasure in my life. Before children, it was a lovely pairing to my daily Bible study. Nowadays, it’s still a little luxury but is usually accompanied with at least one child in my lap who’s attempting to grab the cup out of my hand, and only rarely is my coffee enjoyed warm to its last sip. 

In a perfect world, I would love to enjoy coffee black, without all the extras added. I know that adding sweeteners to your coffee isn’t really the best thing for you first thing in the morning. I have made several attempts to drink black coffee. So far, I have been unsuccessful. As of the time of this writing, I have made the decision that I can’t start my day drinking something I don’t enjoy. Not only does my “fru fru” coffee give me a caffeine boost, but enjoying my coffee makes me a better mother and wife. A small glucose spike is a small price to pay for a happy house. 

As I have mentioned already, for several years I just went to the store, added coffee creamer (whichever brand looked good or was on sale), and went about my day. I couldn’t have cared less about what was in it. Now, with the health conscious circles of influence I have placed myself within, I do realize that fillers, oils, and gums that are often in store bought creamers are not a good way to steward the body God has given me. When I looked at the “all-natural” creamers however, I couldn’t justify the price of what I saw at the stores. Then I realized, these ingredients which are listed on the packaging are ingredients I already have at home! I can make this for myself without bothering with using store bought creamer at all. 

Ingredient breakdown

This is just a very basic coffee creamer recipe. Very vanilla, if you will (No, literally just vanilla). Flavors can be added for each season, but my husband and I generally stick to this standard recipe.

Heavy cream 

This is the ingredient that gives you the bulk of your creamy flavor. Most of the time, I have this for other staples I make, and any store bought version (or local) will do. It’s a pipe dream of mine to have my own dairy cow. If that ever happens, I will be using her cream instead. 

Milk

I like adding milk for several reasons . One, it makes the recipe stretch further than it would if I added cream only (which I have done before). Two, it makes the creamer slightly less calories. And lastly, we don’t drink much milk. Most of the time my toddler just prefers water or juice, and neither my husband or I drink milk on a regular basis. That being said, we rarely finish off a gallon of milk before it expires, so it’s a good way to use up what we have without being wasteful. The type of milk (almond, skim, oat, whole) doesn’t really matter but we almost exclusively use cow’s milk. 

Sugar 

This is a great spot to get creative! Using different types of sweeteners can yield different products. I generally use cane sugar because it’s what we have the most of on hand, but brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey can all be used for this recipe. 

Vanilla extract 

This is pretty much the only flavoring I ever add to our creamer and I make my own vanilla extract at home. Find out how to make yours here. 

Instructions 

Heat a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add your sugar and ½ cup water and stir until mostly dissolved. Add your cream and milk and whisk often, until fully heated through. Turn off the heat and stir in vanilla extract. Pour into containers and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. I usually store mine in quart sized mason jars. You can also look at the expiration dates on your milk products to give you a more exact date. 

Pour as much, or as little as you like over your favorite coffee. I have used this creamer with both hot and cold coffees and found it works wonderfully in either temperature.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 

1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV

Happy caffeinating!